Ladakhi Apricot

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca), locally known as "chulli," is one of the most nutritive, delicious and commercially important fruit crops of Ladakh. It has a wide range of distribution in different parts of Ladakh with particularly abundance in Sham areas (lower Ladakh) including Dha-Hanu, Garkhon, Skurbuchan, Domkhar, Wanla, Khaltse and Timosgang. Apricot in Ladakh, is believed to have been introduced a century back either from China or Central Asia. Since then, apricot has become one of the most preferred and commercially cultivated fruit crop of Ladakh and has become an integral part of the people there.

Apricot, being a unique, tolerant and highly stable plant, can grow exuberantly in wide range of jagged sandy soil, having very low nutrient and moisture content, in the Cold desert of Ladakh. Luxuriously adapted in the extreme environment here in Ladakh, the apricot tree can attain a height of about 4-7m bearing heart shaped leaves, and produces flowers in spring and friuts in summer. With the onset of breezy spring, these trees overcome the long terrible winter dormancy and start producing young healthy leaf buds, and by the month of April-May they produce beautiful white or pinkish flowers that not only ensures the continuity of their population but also give a unique look to the sandy desert of trans-Himalaya. By the month of August-September, they start producing yellow-orange, rounded or oval shaped fruits that are juicy, sweet taste with peculiar apricot flavour.

There are many varieties of apricot grown in Ladakh, which differ from one another in taste (sweet, bitter, sour), size, shape and physical appearance. Some of these varieties include Halman, Laktse-karpo, Safaida, Khanteh etc. Halman and Laktse-karpo are the most preferred one for commercial purpose. Both, the fruit and kernel of apricot is believed to be highly nutritive and consumed as either fresh or dried. They are known to possess a good amount of vitamin-A, vitamin-C, potassium, calcium, iron, carbohydrate, amino acids and sugars. Apricot has been consumed by the people of Ladakh for decades. It has became an integral part of the traditional culture of people here. Local people serve dried or fresh apricot as an excellent dessert, particularly on traditional festival occasions. During the chilly winters, when people prefer to remain indoor, dried apricot fruits make an excellent eatable that compensates the long cold winter, especially for children who use to fill their pocket with dried fruits and enjoy themselves.

In entire Ladakh, a farmer practices one of the best and oldest method of fruit preservation and storage by open sun drying. The local people, particularly women and children, collect the fully ripend apricot in a large traditional basket (locally known as Tsepo) and wash them under running water to remove the dusts, and then spread on the roof top for drying under open sun light. The fruit are dried either as whole fruit (locally known as Fating) or seed are separated before drying, and the dried fruit without seed are called Chulli skampo. During the sun drying process, the fruit loses its natural colour and turns dark brown. This is the major drawback of traditional method of sun drying in Ladakh. However, at present, the Ladakhi farmers have adapted several improved methods of drying including treatment with sulphurdioxide and use of polyhouse apricot drier. These methods are believed to reduce or prevent the browning of fruits.

From the commercial point of view, apricot has been the major source of income for many Ladakhis who are engaged in cultivation and marketing of this fruit. Halman and Laktse-karpo are the two prime varieties that have a good demand in the market and are profitably sold @ Rs 200 - 250 per kilogram. Besides, the kernel of apricot is also consumed and marketed by locals. The seed with sweet kernel is consumed as dry fruit and make a good market price of Rs 100-150/kg while the seed with bitter kernel are used for oil extraction. The apricot oil (locally called tseghumar) is a multipurpose oil with a peculiar apricot flavour and is sold at a remarkable price of Rs 300-500 per litre. Traditionally, the oil is extracted from the semi-roasted kernels by crushing them in a large wooden mortar (locally termed as Thorn), followed by heating and compressing them with few drops of water on a flat stone(called as Tsigg). Besides, several other products such as apricot jam, squash, jelly and cake are being produced for commercial purposes.

This is worth mentioning here that Ladakh is one of the major producer of apricot in India, but, at present almost 90% of the fresh apricot being produced in this cold arid region go waste and its market value stands abysmal. The prime reason for such debacle is the lack of proper network for processing and supplying apricot products in Ladakh and elsewhere in India. The local apricot growers, though, have the knowledge of cultivation and drying, but, they are devoid of any modern technical skills for proper preservation, storage, transportation and marketing of apricot products. This results in a huge less not only to the poor farmers but also to the economy of Ladakh in general.

Keeping in view the major challenges of apricot processing and marketing, the people of Ladakh particularly farmer and young generation needs a deep understanding and awareness of apricot production and commercialization. Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) has made a significant research on apricot propagation, processing and commercialization in Ladakh. In fact, several such scientific research is needed to overcome the major obstacle faced by apricot growers and marketers. . If this God gifted natural resource of Ladakh is to be commercialised and made a potential source of income for thousands of poor Ladakhi farmers, then the local government and non-government agencies, who seem to be complacent, needs to recognise the potential of apricot and go hand in hand with farmers.

Kargil needs developement

"Development is not so much a matter of how much one has as it is of how much one can do with whatever one has".Kargil, a district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, was carved out from Ladakh district in 1979. This was an unheard forgotten land in the Himalayan plateau. It was only during the Kargil War that the region shot into prominence. Prior to the war, the district was not even known to the rest of the country and the world at large. Although Kargil received much attention as a battlefield, the problems and issues of the local population remain unnoticed under the sheen of Kargil victory.

Kargil with an area of 14000 sq km is remote, inaccessible and high altitude area in the western Himalayas. The climatic condition of the region is harsh with extreme cold, dryness, high radiation, low humidity, low oxygen, desert landscape and limited water sources. These exert deleterious effects on the inhabitants like low fertility, high mortality, retardation of mental growth and development and alteration in physiology. Drass, a small town in the west of Kargil, is reputed to be the second coldest inhabited place, with the temperature dipping down below -45 °C. The district is home to a population of few lakhs and they carry out their day to day life under these severe environmental stresses. The baltis, purigpas, dards and brokpas form the different ethnic groups of the population. The Muslims are the majority whereas the Buddhists form the second largest population. The main occupation of the population is cultivation, horticulture, animal husbandry and into government services, trade and commerce. The district is low developed and ranks at the bottom in infrastructural facilities and overall socio-economic development. This adds to the hardship of the local population and hence the survival is on the mercy of nature.

Poor Connectivity

Gone are the days when Kargil used to be an important trade centre in the Pan-Asian trade network. With the closure of silk route and creation of India and Pakistan, the region has become totally isolated from rest of the world. Mohammad Ashraf, former Director General, J&K Tourism, points out, 'this border area was never really cut off even during most brutal winter'. He adds, 'Kargil-Skardu has been an all weather route of great importance, which further connects with Gilgit and thence to Central Asia'. It is only after the emergence of borders that the area got totally blocked during winter. Thus, the people of Kargil are virtually imprisoned in a frozen prison. The only link which connects Kargil to the outer world is the Zojila pass, which becomes inaccessible at least for six months in winters due to heavy snowfall and hence begins a period of isolation for the people of Kargil. This isolation results in great losses in terms of education, health, rural infrastructure development and most importantly sustainability. It badly impacts the young people's education and growth. Tourism, crucial to its economy, is dependent on the Srinagar-Leh highway. There exists a huge potential for winter sports and winter tourism, but tourism gets badly affected due to the six-month inaccessibility. During summers, the people and the government become more involved in stocking basic amenities for the winters. Thus, energy and time are invested into it and other major development issues in different sectors get ignored. The people of the region have little choice but to consume stocked stale food items. Under such situation year after year human life in this part of the world is always at stake. For years, the people of Kargil have been demanding the opening of the Kargil-Skardu road and construction of a tunnel through the Zojila pass but so far there hasn't been any significant development on both the demands.

The state of air connectivity is not in a good shape and still Kargil doesn't exist on the air map of the country. The only airport in Kargil is yet to be used for commercial flights. It requires upgradation which has been pending for a long time. Due to the hilly terrain, the runway needs to be extended by 3,000 feet for normal commercial flights. The current length is merely 6,000 feet, inadequate for flight service in hilly areas.

Energy dependence 

Life in Kargil is completely dependent on energy sources like fuel wood to survive the winters. Due to desert landscape and negligible forest cover, the locals are wholly dependent on Kashmir valley and across for fuelwood to sustain life during the freezing winters. The same holds true for petroleum products and other essential commodities. One can imagine the state of living conditions under shortage of these basic requirements. There are no alternate energy sources to address the crises situation. The issue of energy is of paramount importance for this region. With energy being crucial to human survival, long-term plans need to be developed to tide over the crisis-like situation that crop up year after year.

Lack of employment and entrepreneurship development opportunities

Unemployment is a social issue of serious concern in the present times, both at national as well as state level. In the past few years the problem of unemployment in Kargil has increased at an alarming rate. Lack of entrepreneurship skills of the local youth adds to the problem of unemployment as there is no such institution in the district. The entrepreneurship development initiatives can be used as a tool to provide opportunities to the unemployed. Thus to cope up with the unemployment crisis in the district, there is a greater need to establish entrepreneurship development platform so as to infuse entrepreneurship spirit in youth.

Lack of research activities and facilities 

Kargil bestowed with different geology has huge mineral resources and precious rocks. The region also homes many important medicinal plants and economically important bio diversity. There is no research activity and institution in operation to explore these reserves. It is imperative to establish research facilities to undertake studies to explore the hidden reserves for the economic upliftment of the region. Such facilities will also provide prospects of employment for the local skilled and unskilled youths.

No access to external market

The district produces world's best apricot and indigenous fruit varieties. There is no access to external markets for these fruit crops. This adds to the economic backwardness of the district as compared to the other districts of the state. In view of this state of affairs, it is highly essential to create avenues to market the indigenous fruits in national and international markets so that the socio-economic conditions of the district are improved. It will not only play a significant role in improving the state of the local economy but also help in providing livelihood sources to a large number of educated youth.

Inadequate Electricity

The state of electricity in far flung villages is very poor with mere 3-4 hrs of supply in a day. The villagers have to resort to use of mostly kerosene lamps to meet their extra energy demand. This results in high recurring expenses as well as adverse affects on health. There is great potential of hydro power in the region due to good presence of springs and fast flowing glacier rivers. This can provide efficient electricity for lighting and micro-enterprises. This can have positive impact in terms of social, economic and environmental aspects which in turn can improve the living conditions of the region as a whole. The students in the villages will be able to contribute more time to studies. It'll replace the harmful kerosene lamps that emit harmful fumes.

Poor means of communication

Today without adequate communication means the socio-economic and educational development is impossible. It has been augmented by the technological advancement in communication and the advent of internet was a landmark. Living and day to day operation is not possible without internet. In this age of internet, the region lacks proper basic communication means. Internet is out of question, the state of mobile and telephone services are miserable. The absence of private service providers makes the situation the worst. BSNL is the only one which is in operation and out of service most of the time. The low transmitting power radio station tunes for few hours in the evening and the DD station still waits for upgradation since its inception. As a result the rich cultural heritage of region remains obscure in the eyes of the outer world. The issue of communication needs a greater focus and radical improvement.

Poor Health Facilities

The district lacks the state of art medical facilities and health specialists. Most of the time, the locals have to travel to the valley and other states for health tests and major operations. There is an acute shortage of proper health infrastructure in villages. The people remain hapless in case of health emergency during the winter when the region is cut off from the rest of the country. Under these circumstances the survival of the local always remains at threat.

One of the prime factors of socio-economic backwardness of the region is lack of local representation in any decision making platform in the state as well as at centre. The people of Kargil are always ignored on this front and hence they don't have any say in policy and decision making.

Poor Tourism and Sports infrastructure

Kargil has a huge potential for winter sports and winter tourism. Unfortunately both these sectors are in shambles due to sheer negligence. The district lacks proper and adequate infrastructure to accommodate the visitors. We don't see any efforts to promote and publicize Kargil tourism through print and electronic media. Kargilites are great winter sports lovers and players from the region have played and represented India at international level. Due to favourable conditions the region can host international events but it falls back on promotion and upgradation of winter sports at par with international standards. The state of affair is dismal to the extent that more recently skating players in Kargil had to contribute money to prepare an ice skating ring in Kargil town at the bank of Suru river. 

The list of issues and concerns of the population is long and cannot be scribbled down on few pieces of paper. These issues need response on war footing to support the sustainability of the people in this frozen land. The socio-economic development of the region demands for radical development strategy, a strategy built on new technologies taking into consideration the natural constraints and available resources of the region. Efforts should be made to replicate successful model of development from those parts of the world with similar conditions.

Ladakh The Land of Lamas

The people of Ladakh belong to three distinct races, namely the Dards, the mons and the Mongolians. The first two belong to Aryan race where as Mongolians have close resemblance to Tibetans. They migrated some time in the 10th century AD from Central Asia. Majority of population of Ladakh is Buddhist. Lamas play an important role in the socio religious life of the people of Ladakh. Many of the big monasteries run schools where the monks are trained by Lamas in the Art of Worship performance of various ceremonies. The Lamas also act as astrologers and physicians. They are also responsible for organising festivals and fairs at the Monasteries. Women of Ladakh are equal partners in all walks of life. There is no Pardah system and they go about unveiled and run shops or work in the fields. They have love for dancing and dance is an essential feature of all festivals and religious ceremonies. Honesty and Straight forwardness is in their nature. They are very polite, gentle and hospitable.  ( Changpas of Ladakh )

Ladakh has poverty, mass ignorance and grave social evils. The total rainfall is 3 inch in a year and almost the entire population lives on agriculture. The land being sandy and unproductive, the average yield is generally about three to four times the quantity of the seed used. The methods of Agriculture are very crude and the Area a family can cultivate profitably is proportionate to its man power. There are no irrigational facilities. Transport, labour, weaving and knitting occupy almost all the time the people can spare from their work in the fields. Almost every house has its own loom on which it weaves the fabrics it needs. People sew their own clothes and make their own footwear. Business is mostly in the hands of foreigners domiciled or otherwise. Flocks of sheep and goat form the only wealth of the nomads living in the Area. Most of the shawl wool of Kashmir is from the region whose upland pastures support immense flocks of sheep and goats. Wheat and grain are the main crops grown in Ladakh. The latter in conjunction with tea, form the essential elements of the food of the people in the higher altitudes. Rice used on festival occasions by those who can afford the expense is brought from is brought from Kashmir. Foreign varieties of vegetables have been introduced in Leh where vegetables are cultivated for the market also. The vegetables grown in other localities being mostly meant for home consumption.

Ladakh is a problem province so far its communications are concerned. Distances are so great and communications are poor that certain localities are completely cut off from the rest of Ladakh during winter months and Ladakh itself is isolated from the outside world, when heavy snowfall blocks all the passes connecting Kashmir, Jammu with it for over five months a year. All this badly affects the material well being of the people.

Inspite of the fact that about 90% of the Buddhist population is literate in Bodhi Tibetan Language, Urdu continues to be the medium of instructions in the primary stage in Ladakh. Though children of Ladakh are going out for education.Still there is educational backwardness. People are out of touch with modern pol. and scientific thoughts. They are ignorant about the day to day happenings in the world. There is no printing press in the area and no daily news paper is published there. Since Bodhi is their mother tongue, it is essential that instruction should be imparted to Ladakhi children in that language as the Bodhi is a highly developed language.

The Shias form a majority among the Muslims of and Kargil. The Shias are well organised socially while the influence of Buddhist ethics and philosophy of life reveal itself impressively in the daily life of Buddhists. The formal religion practised by them is a mixture of Buddhism, Tantra and Bonism. The Lamas or Monks are held in high esteem and the recarnating Kushoks or heads of Monasteries regarded almost as divinities. The Lamas have to live as celebes and according to the prescribed discipline. They are therefore, admitted to the Gompas in very early life to enable them to adjust themselves to monastic life before they are subjected to influences antagonistic to that life. As the order of the monk is "fundamental to Buddhism" and as the social and religious life of the Buddhists revolves round the Gompas, the Buddhists love song and dance. The tolerance and liberality of the Buddhists is great.

The caravan serias maintained by the Gompas are open to people of all faiths and nationalities.
Two social evils, ugly and venomous, are eating into the vitals of Ladakh Buddhists. One is the custom of polyandry under which the brothers of a husband share the favour of his wife. The other is very common use of "Chang" and intoxicating beverage made from gram and barley. Polyandry has prevailed for generations past through out Ladakh amongst the Buddhists. This custom was certainly not introduced by Buddhism but Buddhism has not checked it so far. The "Chang" habit is gradually impoverishing the people mentally morally, physically and economically.

As the Ladakhi people have now educational awareness and are fully awakened, they are suffering for want of education. The children of Ladakh either come to Jammu or Srinagar for higher education, for this purpose, major portion of the income of their parents is spent on the education only and other areas remain neglected. There is need of providing the Ladakhies all educational facilities in their home land up to University education level. This will help in tension free education and their economic upliftment.